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Another suitably sordid issue of Satellite Sam, but the best scene in this issue wasn’t sexual at all, instead it was the focus on the actual TV show they are making, and the way all of the characters interact with each other when they aren’t fucking something or someone. This issue also does well at spreading the attention around to some characters who have been in the background so far, which is useful, although due to Chaykin’s art, and the black and white nature of the book, it is still hard to figure out who is who at times.

Fraction begins with Mariangela, who has been arrested for beating up her former fiancé, and is in some deep shit, she calls up Dick Danning, the director, and although he bails her out, she still faces possible deportation. Dick is the character who gets more focus here, as we get a flashback to before he joined LeMonde, where he was a fantastic, but unappreciated radio man, who Ginsberg recruited for the new medium in the 30s.

Meanwhile, Michael White seems to have given up on finding out who killed his dad, and is now just giving into his base instincts and fucking any woman he can, including an extra in an alien costume. Unfortunately for Kara, the walls between dressing rooms are very thin, and she hears everything, which at first is infuriating, and then starts to turn her on, as she leans up to the wall and starts putting her crucifix in her mouth. I swear, this book makes me feel like I need a shower a lot of the time. It’s clear that we’re moving towards some kind of fucked-up Michael/Kara relationship, as he says he was thinking about her the entire time he was fucking the extra.

Up next is a rehearsal for the show, where Hamilton tries to ask for more lines, but is pretty much shot down by Guy. This looks like being a big mistake on Guy’s part, as Hamilton drops in on him to show that he’s got photos of Guy getting a blowjob from a man, so the blackmail is on. I’m not quite sure what the following scene, where Libby is questioned by Ginsberg about kinescopes of Satellite Sam. Why is she so nervous? Why does she have them anyway? I guess there’s a clue in them about Carlyle White’s death? I dunno. The best scene here, is, as I said, when they are actually filming the show, and, due to the light being in his eyes, Michael is unable to see some of the cue cards, which allows Hamilton to sneak in and say them himself. It’s crazy to see a live show be done like this, and how complex it all was, but the best bit is afterwards, where Michael comes up to Hamilton and tells him that if he ever does that again, he’ll, and I quote, ‘punch his goddamn heart out’. Man, Michael is a dick.

The issue ends with Dick being told that he has lung cancer, which would probably have more impact if this wasn’t the first issue where we really started to care about him, but even so, he does seem like one of the few characters in this series who isn’t a total scumbag.

Even after 6 issues, I’m still not sure what I think about Satellite Sam, I enjoy it, but it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, and the art, whilst good, is confusing. I dunno, it’s not like anything else out there, that’s for sure, and that’s always worth supporting.